Bhubaneswar: Six Maoists were gunned down in separate encounters in Kandhamal and Balangir districts in the past 24 hours.

Additional director general of police (operations) R.P. Koche said four rebels, including two women cadres, were killed in a gunfight with the special operations group (SOG) jawans at Godanki village in Kandhmal sadar police limits on Sunday afternoon.

The slain Maoists are yet to be identified.

"We have seized eight weapons including an AK-47 and an Insas rifle. The operation is still on," said Koche.

Sources said two SOG teams mounted an operation against a group of Maoists camping near Godanki village following specific intelligence inputs. When challenged, the rebels fired at the SOG jawans who retaliated. The area is frequented by rebel cadres of the Kandhmal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division of CPI (Maoist). The success of the police in Kandhmal was preceded by another major encounter in Balangir district in the early hours of Sunday. Two Maoists carrying rewards on their heads were killed in the exchange of fire between the rebels and security forces comprising one unit of SOG and one unit of district voluntary force near Dudukamal village at Bender reserve forest in Belpada police limits.

Sources said that the encounter took place around 1am. The deceased Maoists have been identified as the CPI (Maoist) divisional committee member Sanjeev with a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head and area committee member Rakesh who carried a bounty of Rs 4 lakh. Both were from Chhattisgarh.

Deputy inspector-general (north) Satyabrata Bhoi said an AK-47, an Insas rifle and four magazines were seized from the encounter spot.

Sources said the encounter followed a tip-off about the presence of a group of Maoists in a house in the village late on Saturday night. A joint SOG team and district voluntary force jawans led by Balangir police superintendent K. Siva Subramani raided the house engaging the rebels in an exchange of fire.

Bhoi hailed the efforts of the police describing the encounter as a "major success" that will boost the morale of the security forces. He said: "Combing in the area is still on. The possibility of some more rebel casualties cannot be ruled out."

Additonal reporting by Sudeep Kumar Guru in Balangir